Frank "Machito" Grillo

Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo (February, 16, 1912, Havana, Cuba - April 15, 1984, London, England). In the late 1920s and 1930s, Machito played the maracas and sang with some of Cuba’s most popular dance orchestras including Ignacio Piñeiro’s Septeto Nacional, María Teresa Vera’s Sexteto Occidente, and El Sexteto Agabama.

Mario Bauzá and Machito formed a musical partnership and in October 1937, Bauzá invited Machito to join him in New York.

In 1943, Machito and Bauzá recorded [m2333206] which is considered the first Afro-Cuban jazz recording.